Daniel Ricciardo admits fears over FROSTY Red Bull F1 return

Ricciardo, Verstappen, Monaco, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

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Ricciardo admits fears over FROSTY Red Bull return

Daniel Ricciardo wasn't sure if he'd be welcomed back into the Red Bull fold

Cal Gaunt

Friday 15 December 2023 22:12

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he was nervous about returning to Red Bull last season, questioning whether or not he would be welcomed back to the Formula 1 team with open arms.

Having re-entered the Red Bull fold as their third driver earlier this year, Ricciardo's driving errors saw Red Bull engineers diligently seeking to rectify them.

Having faced the axe from McLaren after two lacklustre seasons, Christian Horner made it clear that he must improve his performances on-track, before he ultimately moved to replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed a successful return to F1 in 2023

Daniel Ricciardo spent five years racing for Red Bull before leaving for Renault

Ricciardo: I didn't know how they felt

Horner even went as far as to suggest that Ricciardo had 'picked up every bad habit imaginable' during his time away from Red Bull, with the Australian admitting that he wasn't sure what kind of reception he would receive when walking back through the doors.

“I think bad habits can just come in the form of a lack of confidence,” Ricciardo told the Beyond The Grid podcast.

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“It was the end of last year. Once the season was done, I jumped on the sim, I guess it was sometime in December before I went home for Christmas.

“Don't get me wrong, I was also nervous because I'm stepping back into an environment that... I knew Christian was very open doors, but I didn't know how other people at Red Bull felt about me coming back into the family, into the team.

"So I was also a little bit nervous with that.”

Red Bull McLaren Formula 1 Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo Nyck de Vries